GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH

The life of America’s longest-living president.

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The Navy Pilot

“It was a red, white, and blue thing. Your country’s attacked, you’d better get in there and try to help.”

At 18, he joined the Navy. He went on to become the youngest naval aviator at the time & a Lieutenant. During one of his 58 combat missions, his plane was shot down over the Pacific during WWII. He survived on a raft and was eventually rescued.

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The Family Man

“I have climbed perhaps the highest mountain in the world, but even that cannot hold a candle to being Barbara’s husband…“

In 1945, while on leave from the Navy, he married Barbara Pierce. Their 73-year marriage resulted in 6 children (including daughter Robin, who died of leukemia at age 3), 17 grandchildren, & 8 great-grandchildren. Barbara Bush passed away in April 2018.

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The Business Man

“This West Texas is a fabulous place …. Fortunes can be made in the land end of the oil business, and of course can be lost.”

After graduating from Yale, Bush moved his family to Odessa, Texas in 1948 due to the booming oil industry. He went on to co-found three oil businesses.

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The Statesman

“There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people.”

His life in politics began in 1966 when he was elected to the Texas Congress. In 1971, Bush became the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and by 1976, he was the director of the CIA. He served as Pres. Ronald Reagan's Vice President from 1980 - 1988.

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The President

“A President is neither prince nor pope, and I don’t seek a window on men’s souls.”

During his presidency, he oversaw the end of the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the U.S., Bush signed the Clear Air Act amendments and the Americans with Disabilities Act into law.

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The Skydiver

“Just because you’re an old guy, you don’t have to sit around drooling in corner. Get out and do something. Get out and enjoy life.”

At 72, he delivered on a promise he made to himself as a WWII pilot to jump out of a plane not on fire. He went on to do it seven more times, always with Barbara waiting for him on the ground.

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Known by many as "41", President Bush was known to his family and loved ones as "Poppy" or "Pop." To his grandchildren and great-grandchildren he went by "Gampy" - a nickname he inherited from his maternal grandfather.